What's next with Democrats' gas tax plan to end N.J. road construction shutdown?
TRENTON — The state Senate could vote as early as Aug. 1 on a plan to raise the gas tax and restart more than 1,000 idling road, bridge and rail construction projects across the state.
Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto (D-Hudson) announced Friday they were joining together on a slightly revised proposal to raise the tax on gasoline sold in New Jersey by 23 cents a gallon and offer several tax breaks, big and small.
The proposal is similar to one the Legislature was moving toward approving last month, before Gov. Chris Christie struck a deal with the Assembly to cut the sales tax by one percentage point instead.
The competing plans left the Transportation Trust Fund without a new source of revenue when it expired at the end of June. Officials have said it contains only enough money to continue operating through early August, and Christie ordered a statewide work stoppage to ration what little is left.
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